Sick of cringeworthy karaoke and keen to take your vocal talents to the next level? Then try joining Abu Dhabi’s new choir, run by two of the city’s most talented voice coaches.
As Christine in Phantom of the Opera put it, ‘Through music, my soul began to soar.’ This feeling is shared by Stephanie Sell, a voice coach based in Abu Dhabi – and that’s why she decided to start a community choir along with fellow coach Sacha Kilgour.
Stephanie has been teaching private voice lessons since 2005. Owing to her background in musical theatre, Stephanie’s lessons are traditional, involving sheet music and a single pianist. She is professionally trained, having graduated from Bretton Hall College in England with a BA in musical theatre, before completing a post-graduate degree in education at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.
Stephanie’s passion for singing and teaching is palpable. ‘I love seeing the progress my private students make and the buzz they get when they sing songs they love,’ she says. ‘I remember feeling that way.’
In her lessons, Stephanie advises her students not to imitate a singer, but rather to find their own style. She challenges her students, just as she plans to challenge the choir, to try songs that might fall outside of what she calls their comfort range – the range of notes that singers are generally happy sticking to. She explains, ‘I often find that my students are hiding amazing “head voices” which is when a singer hits a higher register.’
Stephanie says, ‘The idea for the choir formed out of demand. Many of my private students and other prospective students told me that they wanted a place where they could train their voices in a group.’ So, Stephanie got together with Sacha and organised a meeting space for a community choir – one that anyone could join without having to audition.
At their first meeting at Stephanie’s house on March 10, the choir had 16 participants. The choir is open to men and women aged 18 and older, but at the moment the members are all female. Stephanie and Sacha look forward to welcoming even more members into their group in the coming weeks. Although at the moment it’s called the Al Reef Community Choir, the group is open to any interested singers. No previous singing experience is necessary.
The rehearsals, which are led by Stephanie and Sacha and conducted as professional choir coaching sessions, cost Dhs50 per week and run for an hour and a half.
Both Stephanie’s private lessons and the rehearsals start with vocal warm-ups, which Stephanie stresses are important. She explains, ‘The voice is like any muscle, you need to warm it up before you use it. The consequence of not warming up could be eventually developing nodes – which are small sores on the vocal cords – and losing your singing voice for ever.’
The choir is planning on rehearsing many different types of songs including numbers from musicals – Stephanie’s personal favourites – as well as pop songs and gospel, Sacha’s forté. The choir will perform songs both with accompaniments and a cappella. Stephanie adds, ‘Going forward, we would like the group to grow and to have prepared enough songs to eventually perform or sing for charities.’
Stephanie’s advice to new singers who are interested in joining a choir but are not sure if they have the skills is to just give it a go. She says, ‘Singing is good for the soul and, in the context of a choir, all you need is enthusiasm.’
Private lessons are Dhs100 for 30 minutes and Dhs150 for 45 minutes. For information on lessons or the Al Reef Community Choir, email Stephanie at stephaniesell@hotmail.co.uk. The choir meets at the Smart Learning Nursery in Al Reef on Mondays at 8pm.
